


Bandology

by lesmiserablol



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Marching Band, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 13:03:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4961644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For an overnight band trip, Combeferre and Courfeyrac are roommates. Shenanigans follow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bandology

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt for the-law-of-progress on tumblr who requested, "How about one where they are roommates for a band retreat thing and shenanigans happen?" for Courferre. The title is from the marching band song by Eric Osterling by the same name.

Courfeyrac's phone starts ringing and he jumps, looking around for it before finding it under some papers on his mess of a desk. The screen tells him it's Enjolras and he picks up right away.  
  
"Hey," he greets. "What's up?"  
  
"Did you see the room assignments?" The other asks immediately, direct to the point as usual and his voice sharp.  
  
Courfeyrac turns to his laptop where the email is still open. The marching band competition lasts only a day, but it ends late enough that driving all the way back to their town means they would get there very late. The band teacher just decided they can stay at a hotel for a night instead, and they got assigned roommates. "Yes I did, like three seconds ago."  
  
"I got paired with Grantaire," Enjolras says through gritted teeth, and Courfeyrac tries to hold in his amusement, but once it's obvious he just snorted he lets it go and laughs so hard that he falls out of his desk chair with a painful thump.  
  
"What's so funny?" Enjolras demands icily.  
  
"Oh nothing, it's just that you two don't exactly get along, do you?"  
  
The truth was that they both had been pining after each other for months and they were the only two who failed to see it.  
  
"Correct. Who did you get paired with?"  
  
Courfeyrac feels his stomach drop and he sits up on the ground with a sigh. "Combeferre."  
  
Enjolras is silent for a few seconds. "That'll be interesting."  
  
"Great, now I feel like a jerk for laughing at you."  
  
"Good."  
  
"If we were having this conversation face to face I'd stick my tongue out now."  
  
"I know," he sighs. "Are you all ready for this weekend?"  
  
"Physically or emotionally?" Courfeyrac questions, picking up a pencil from his floor and tapping out a rhythm from one of their songs on his knee.  
  
"Good point," Enjolras pauses. "I thought I requested Combeferre and you requested Grantaire for this reason."  
  
"Oh, did we have the same reasons?" Courfeyrac raises an eyebrow at his wall, grinning when Enjolras starts sputtering on the other line. "I'm just teasing. Well, if it doesn't end well we can always drop out of our senior year of high school and move to another country."  
  
Enjolras sighs again. "It's only one night. What could possibly happen?"

* * *

That night, after the few hours of playing and marching what had become second nature to them all by now are over, they return to the hotel. Everyone disperses to put away their bags in their rooms, and it is just Enjolras, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac walking down the hall, carrying their belongings and talking about how ready they are for the results, which will not be posted until the next day, and Enjolras stops in front of a room at the end of the hall.  
  
"Well, this is me," he says.  
  
"Where's Grantaire?" Courfeyrac asks.  
  
"He's with Éponine and Bahorel," Enjolras answers. He's looking down the hallway and fiddling with his room key, and Courfeyrac and Combeferre exchange a look.  
  
"He'll show up soon," Combeferre smiles and pats his friend on the back.

Enjolras drops off his bags before following Combeferre and Courfeyrac into their room, which is directly across the hall.  
  
Courfeyrac jumps onto the nearest bed. "Dibs!"  
  
Combeferre smiles and sets his bag down on the other bed, placing his clarinet case on the bedside table with care while Enjolras claims the arm chair.  
  
"What do you guys want to do for the next," Courfeyrac checks the clock on the table, "fifteen minutes until we can go get dinner?"  
  
Enjolras sighs and stares at the ceiling and the other two exchange looks, knowing what is coming. They both sit on Courfeyrac's bed, facing their friend.  
  
Sure enough, his rant about Grantaire takes almost no time to turn into him venting about how amazing he is.  
  
"He's really talented at percussion, you know? And he has great hands, and I've noticed they're always covered in paint, I think that's fascinating. Did you see his art in the display case in the hallway? I saw it and immediately knew it was his, it was the best one in there. Of course he insists he is not that great, which is just infuriating."  
  
Courfeyrac got bored of fiddling with his drumsticks and is braiding his curls when there is a knock on the door. Combeferre gets up to answer it, and Grantaire walks in.

"Hey guys. I knew you'd be in here, Enjolras," he grins.  
  
Courfeyrac watches Enjolras warily. He tends to be either too nice or too sharp with Grantaire after his rants about him. When Enjolras crosses his arms, it's evident it's the latter one.  
  
"Yes, I'm here, since you didn't bother to stay with me," he snaps. "Why are you here?"  
  
"Enjolras," Combeferre reprimands.  
  
"It's fine, I'm used to it," Grantaire shrugs. "I came here to let you guys know it's time to get dinner."  
  
"Alright, we'll be down in a moment, we just need to properly scold Enjolras here real quick," Courfeyrac tells him, and Grantaire rolls his eyes before leaving.  
  
Enjolras puts his head in his hands. "I'm an idiot."  
  
"Yeah, you really are," Combeferre agrees, earning him a glare, and they leave it at that.  
  
The three of them leave their room to meet up with the rest of their group of friends in the lobby. Courfeyrac has no idea who thought it would be a good idea to let a bunch of high school students wander around the streets surrounding the hotel in search of some restaurant for food, especially considering their gang. They end up in a McDonalds, everyone ordering heaps of fries and burgers except for, unsurprisingly, Combeferre, Enjolras, and Joly, who decide they'll stop at the convenience store on the way back to the hotel instead. They all take up several tables and are given disapproving looks from an elderly couple but are otherwise undisturbed.   
  
"You guys think we won?" Bahorel asks, his voice as booming as his tuba, a mouthful of food already in his mouth.

"Won what, the prize for the most orders of fries ordered between eleven people?" Éponine asks, staring at the trays and pulling one towards her.

"He's probably talking about the competition," Grantaire grins to the nearest person, who turns out to be Feuilly.

"Thanks Grantaire," The trumpet player says flatly, and the other winks.  
  
Jehan hums thoughtfully and picks through his french fries for the extra crispy ones with the delicate fingers of a flutist. "I hope we won."  
  
"We kicked butt," Bossuet states, his fry missing his mouth and smearing ketchup on his cheek.

"Did you guys see the drum major from one of the other schools?" Marius smiles. "The brunette? She was beautiful."

"I saw her, but my impression was that she was loud for being so tiny," Joly says, stealing a fry from his boyfriend.

After all the food is finally gone, they head to the convenience store and stock up on candy while Joly grabs three lunchables and Combeferre and Enjolras get some fruit and pre-made sandwiches from the fridges.

They separate in pairs as they go down the hallway of the hotel, saying (or in Bahorel's case, shouting) goodnight before going to their rooms.  
  
Both Grantaire and Enjolras mouth "help me" once they reach their room, and it isn't until they have closed their door and Combeferre and Courfeyrac stop laughing that Courfeyrac realizes it is just the two of them alone.  
  
They walk into their room and Courfeyrac throws himself on his bed with a sigh. "I'm exhausted. What movie should we watch?"  
  
Combeferre tries to downplay his excitement at the documentary playing on the Discovery Channel, but Courfeyrac can see right through it and suggests they keep watching it (seeing him happy makes Courfeyrac happy). They both sit on Combeferre's bed since it's the one closest to the TV and also to make it easier to share the snacks and candy Courfeyrac pulls out.  
  
Everything in the documentary goes over his head, and he's going crazy without something to keep his hands busy so he just fiddles with the candy wrappers until Combeferre reaches into his bag and hands him a Rubik's cube. Courfeyrac beams, briefly wondering if he had packed that just for him, but he doesn't get too hopeful and begins solving the cube.  
  
He shows off the cube once he finishes it, and Combeferre gives him a soft smile that makes his stomach feel like it's filled with butterflies. That light and happy feeling stays with him as he scrambles the cube back up to solve again.  
  
He doesn't remember feeling tired, but eventually he falls backwards onto the bed and is asleep almost instantly.  
  
He wakes up the next morning with the Rubik's cube digging into his back and something warm at his side. He slowly opens his eyes, jumping and falling off the bed when he realizes there's a person there that he is snuggled up against.  
  
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I must've fallen asleep, I tend to cuddle people, I'm sorry, you probably thought that was weird, I'm so sorry," he rambles to Combeferre, who is awake, as he rises to his feet.  
  
Combeferre smiles sheepishly and Courfeyrac wonders how long he's been awake. Was he watching him sleep? Courfeyrac wipes a hand across his mouth, hoping he doesn't drool.  
  
"It's fine, I fell asleep too, I don't mind," Combeferre insists quickly. "Do you want to take a shower first?"  
  
"You go ahead, I'm gonna lay here and die of embarrassment," Courfeyrac mumbles, falling onto his bed.  
  
"It's really okay, Courf," Combeferre chuckles before going into the bathroom.  
  
Courfeyrac paces for a few minutes before he gets up to go talk to Enjolras, but he hears yelling behind the door and decides against it.  
  
When he walks back into his room, he walks directly into a shirtless Combeferre.  
  
He takes a step back. "Oh, sorry, I..."  
  
He trails off as he sees the water dripping from his hair and the droplets trickling down his bare chest, and damn, he was vaguely aware of the fact that Combeferre enjoys running and working out, but he has never seen all the muscles underneath his shirt until now. He feels his mouth go dry, realizes he's staring, and forces his eyes to look up again. Combeferre is silent but his eyes dart down to Courfeyrac's lips a few times, and he's not sure if he moved closer or not, he just knows they're leaning towards each other and finally, this is it, this is happening, their lips are only inches apart-  
  
There's a loud knock on their door, and Courfeyrac blinks his eyes open in confusion as Enjolras's voice comes muffled through the wood. "Let me in."  
  
He realizes he had put his hands on Combeferre's bare shoulders and he jumps back, opening his mouth to apologize when Enjolras knocks again.  
  
Combeferre is just staring at him with wide eyes, looking far too collected, which is pretty unfair considering how flustered Courfeyrac must be. He seems to remember that he doesn't have a shirt on and he goes to retrieve one as Courfeyrac opens the door.  
  
"I'm gonna kill-" Courfeyrac's threat dies on his lips as Enjolras hurries inside, looking upset and angry. If he thinks it's weird that Combeferre is hurrying to put a shirt on and that one of the beds is messy while the other practically untouched, he doesn't comment. He just flops down on Courfeyrac's bed face first and mumbles into the pillow.  
  
"What was that?" Courfeyrac asks, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Enjolras rolls over with a sigh. "I'm an idiot."  
  
"We established this last night," Combeferre tells him gently. Courfeyrac snorts.  
  
"I've been in love with Grantaire for...a long time I guess," Enjolras begins, staring at the ceiling, "and I never really realized it. We've just been friends, although sometimes we disagreed, and this whole time a part of me has been wanting more. And we were arguing just now, and then suddenly we were about to kiss, and that's when I realized everything. And then, of course, right before we could kiss his phone started ringing, and I didn't know what to do so I just," he sighs. "I ran. Like a coward."  
  
There is an awkward silence following as Combeferre and Courfeyrac notice the parallels between their relationship and Enjolras's with Grantaire. Enjolras lifts his head curiously after a few seconds to look at his two friends that are avoiding eye contact with each other.  
  
"Er, guys, you alright?" he asks. "This is usually the part where you give me advice."  
  
"Well Enjolras," Combeferre says eventually. "If you've had feelings for him for a while and you want to kiss him, you should go tell him that."  
  
Courfeyrac looks over in time to see Combeferre glancing away from him and turning back to the blonde.

"Yeah, don't let your feelings just bottle up like that. Come clean to him, I'm sure he feels the same way," Courfeyrac adds, and Combeferre beams.  
  
"I guess you guys are right," Enjolras nods. "I'll go talk to him."  
  
He slowly gets up, shooting them questioning looks before leaving their room.  
  
There's a few silent moments, then Courfeyrac stands up and faces Combeferre. "I've had a crush on you for months."  
  
"I have feelings for you too," Combeferre confesses in a rush with a nervous smile.  
  
That's all. Then suddenly they're inches away again, and Courfeyrac puts a hand on the back of his neck while Combeferre grabs his hips and they kiss.  
  
When they see Enjolras and Grantaire hand in hand at breakfast, Enjolras mumbles a "shut up," before noticing his two best friends holding hands as well. His eyes widen, he turns to Grantaire and asks if he knew about this. Grantaire just grins at Combeferre and Courfeyrac and raises his orange juice in a toast.

They don't think they can be happier, but then Bahorel runs in and announces that they got first place. 

**Author's Note:**

> In case it wasn't clear (or I didn't mention it), here are the characters and the instrument they play:  
> Courfeyrac- percussion  
> Combeferre- clarinet  
> Enjolras- tenor saxophone  
> Grantaire- percussion  
> Marius- trumpet  
> Bahorel- tuba  
> Bossuet- trombone  
> Joly- clarinet  
> Éponine- alto saxophone  
> Jehan- flute  
> Feuilly- trumpet  
> Yes, Cosette is the drum major Marius mentions. Hope you guys liked this!


End file.
